If a body in motion tends to stay in motion, why do we need to burn gas to travel at highway speeds?

Why do we need to burn gas to keep travelling at the same speed? The basic answer is "because if we didn't, eventually the car would stop." In everyday life, there is always friction and air resistance that opposes any motion, and if you leave a moving object alone, this friction and drag will eventually cause it to stop. This lecture looks at how this drag impacts a car.

People recommend commuting by bicycle rather than by car to save energy. However sometimes when a cyclist pushes the button to make a traffic light change, it means that a bus full of people has to stop. When a cyclist makes the bus stop like this, is the extra fuel it has to burn to get back up to speed MORE than the fuel saved by choosing to commute by bicycle rather than car?